Body of Iron Heart of Steel
by GrissleMcThornbody
Summary: Franky spends his night on watch duty considering the dynamics of his new life on the Thousand Sunny and trying to figure out how exactly he fits in, especially concerning a certain wanted woman. FrankyxRobin. A small collection of stories surrounding Frobin.
1. Never Another Like It

**A/N: I do not own One Piece or its Characters.**

 **Never Another Like It  
**  
The night breeze was cool on Franky's back as he looked out over the endless expanse of ocean which lay before him. Despite the wind it was a clear evening; the stars and moon twinkled up above, illuminating the world in a muted blue. It was perfect weather for having lookout duty. The man gently patted the railing beneath his arms, and smiled.

"It's nice aye, Sunny?" He said to the ship, in a way that one might speak to a small child. "Never forget it; we don't when there'll be another one like it."

In the ship's cabins the rest of the Straw Hat crew were tucked in their beds. The captain snored particularly loudly, making the shipwright consider the possibilities of installing better sound absorption. Padding would probably also be good for a certain sleepwalking cook. He chuckled thinking of the antics he had witnessed since they had set sail from Water 7. Although he had only recently joined them, Franky felt a spark of warm affection, just as he had for his family back home.

The man wiped a stray tear from his cheek and scolded himself.

"A man should never look back with regret," he assured himself.

After all, here on the Thousand Sunny they also had a little family of their own. There was Luffy, the obnoxious younger brother. The samurai and cook bickered just like twins. Nami, was that poor little sister who had to deal with it all, and the little deer, when he wasn't a big scary monster, could be considered like a little baby. The ladies most certainly treated him as such.

And then there was Nico Robin...

He wasn't quite sure how she fit fully into the dynamic yet. She was most certainly more mature than the rest of them. She gave calm, assuring praise when the situation warranted it. She tickled Chopper. She let Luffy and Ussop show her all the weird stuff they caught, and even managed to lightly brush off Sanji's advances.

"I suppose that would make her the mother then," Franky mused.

"Ufufufu... You seem to be having quite the interesting conversation out here," a smooth voice chimed in from beside him.

All the man's mechanics almost leapt from his skin. He had been so lost in thought that he hadn't even noticed the statuesque woman approach him. Nico Robin giggled at his surprise and rested her forearms on the railing. Her long delicate fingers wrapped around a steaming cup of something too floral smelling to be her usual coffee, and a long silky robe shielded her from the ocean breeze.

"So I'm the mother," she mused. "I suppose that's true. I never really considered it before."

The man leaned away from her, feeling slightly violated.

"Oi, oi, oi…" he grumbled. "You ever learn it's rude to eavesdrop on people?"

She smiled, no hint of shame to be found. "Sorry."

He groaned, leaning back on the rail.

"So what are you then?" The woman asked, after he had regained his composure.

The cyborg rubbed the back of his neck and flipped himself around so that his back faced the sea. He let out a few grumbles as he tried to come up with a way to respond. Then he finally perked up and turned to her.

"Aniki," he growled, proudly with a thumbs-up.

"Is that so," the woman replied, taking a sip of her drink.

"Of course it is," the man, explained. "Everyone calls me that."

"That's because you were a mob boss," she said.

The cutting simplicity to her statement, was only further emphasized by the sudden gust of cold air which passed through the silence between them.

Franky could his face grow warm. She was right. He began tapping his foot impatiently trying to come up with another answer.

Well, he was always impressing Luffy and Ussop with the cool things he came up with. Zorro respected his strength. Sanji didn't seem to fully care for his antics, and Nami just seemed outright embarrassed whenever dealing with him.

After another moment of silence, Nico Robin straightened up and placed her now empty cup on the deck.

"I could help you figure it out if you would like," she said, with her typical smooth air.

Franky looked up at the brown eyes, which studied him with sparkling curiosity. His breath caught in his throat. He wasn't certain if he was experiencing a malfunction or was just blown away by how the woman's skin glowed in the moonlight. He beat his chest and coughed a couple times just make sure everything was working.

The woman let out a small giggle, masking her smile with one hand. Then she looked back out towards the cabins and the snoring.

"If you were to ask me," she continued. Her gaze was soft. "I would say that I see you as the father. Mostly in a literary way; it just seems they feel very warm and safe around you."

"Are you trying to say that I'm lame?" Franky asked, responding with more disappointment than he had expected. He rocked back onto one hip and struck his signature pose. "I could be the cool... SUPER uncle-!"

A disembodied hand clamped itself over his mouth, muffling the last of his words, and another set of arms pried his from their favorite position. The cyborg scowled down at the woman, who in turn shook her head in disapproval back at him.

"You'll wake everyone up," she stated, when he attempted the free himself from her grasp.

"Dammit, woman, is nothing sacred?" He snapped once she released him.

Robin smirked, crossing her wrists in a light threat.

"Is there something in particular to which you are referring?" She said coyly.

"Yeah there is," the man hissed. "First you manhandle the jewels and now my pose?"

"It seemed appropriate at the time," she replied nonchalantly.

"There's never an appropriate time for that!"

"Oh, there's not?" Robin asked, a dark glimmer in her eye.

Franky stopped, unsure of to which instance the woman was referring to. His temperature was rising. He had dealt with a lot of crap over the years, but never such an audacious woman. She had been quite the charmer and damsel in distress at Enies Lobby, but now he could see the sick sense of humor the intelligent woman had developed in her life of running from the law.

It made his gears physically grind. It was frustrating. It was wrong. It was oddly arousing.

The smirk on the woman's lips told him that she knew how bothered he was. She flipped her hair over her shoulder and began to walk away in a manner that was way too languid to actually leave.

"Oi, Nico Robin," he called after her. She stopped and looked back at him. "What's your game?"

She raised her eyebrows, in a questioning challenge. Franky cocked his head back in response.

"Why would I play a game," she replied.

Then she glanced down at his feet, and lifted a hand to her face. She then walked back to wear he stood, bent over gracefully, back straight so her assets were quite obvious, and picked the coffee cup off of the floor. Franky dared not even breathe while she was that close. She glanced back up at him, her face almost directly underneath his chin. Her eyelashes batted lightly over her dark eyes.

"Oops, I forgot my cup," she whispered.

Her breath puffed across the cyborg's neck. He gulped.

Something like recognition flashed in Robin's eyes and she ran a finger up his exposed chest while disembodied arms wrapped around his body. A chill ran down his spine.

"From the game you talked back at Water 7, I would have thought you would have loved to be the father," she cooed, turning her back to him once again. "Or are my six kids too much for you, Franky?"

Franky began to reach for the woman's shoulder, but hesitated. Getting physical on a ship could spell trouble. He knew; he had been the product of it. He lowered his hand to his hip.

"You're acting awful mischievous," he said, trying to ignore the hands all over him. "You sure you're their mother?"

"Can't mothers have a bit of fun?" She chided over her shoulder. Franky groaned; he was in way over his head with this woman. "You seem to be avoiding my question."

A hand ran a finger down his back, causing the man to shudder. Evil woman. She was luring him in slowly but surely, and he wasn't positive that he would be able to fight it off much longer.

"And if I agree to be the father?" He finally conceded.

Robin's smile widened, and the hands which covered the man disappeared. "The children will be very happy."

Franky looked her over with great skepticism. Then chuckled. Then outright laughed. He had been completely played by this woman in every way. She never ever ceased to amaze him.

"I'll be the most super father I can be then," he said, with another thumbs up and a wink. "They won't know what to do with all the love."

Robin covered her mouth, her eyes smiling just as much as her lips for once.

"Good."

She then began to retreat towards the cabins once more. After a few steps she stopped and turned around. The fingers of her free hand flicked out in a languid motion as she blew a small kiss. Fingers traced their way up the bottom of the man's chin.

Franky seized the disembodied hand in one of his own; she had made squirm enough for one night. It was time to pay her back. He forcefully lifted the hand to his lips and kissed it, causing the woman's eyes to grow wide. The hand dissolved into flower petals.

Despite the blue tint of the light, Franky was sure that he saw her face getting redder.

"Goodnight, mother," he whispered.

Nico Robin laughed with such a sweet sound it could have been mistaken for a bell. She then wrapped her robe tighter around herself.

"Goodnight, father," she replied, and continued on her way back to bed.

Franky then watched as the archeologist walk away, admiring the perfect body which hid beneath that silky sheath.

"Super…"

As soon as she was out of sight, the cyborg collapsed on the deck with a sigh of relief. However, despite his trial being over, his heart still raced. He placed a hand on one of the railing's pillars.

"Sunny," the man breathed. "You definitely can't forget this night; there will NEVER be another one like it."

 **A/N: Whew... this fic is a bit more my speed. I am trying to improve my writing for the characters; they are all so unique it's a little bit difficult to get into the swing again. Please leave a review if you feel there is anything I can improve. :)**


	2. Work Flirt

**A/N: woohoo! Here comes story two!**

 **Work Flirt**

"Dear Franky,

It has come to my attention that you seem to have started avoiding me as of late. It would be at the very least polite to give me an answer as to why.

Sincerely,

Nico Robin"

Franky let out a sigh. This was the note that he had gone back to his workshop to find on that cool morning. She wasn't incorrect; over the past week the he had been avoiding the woman. Although, he found it pretty amazing that she hadn't realized the reason for his distance.

It had all started a couple of weeks before, in more temperate waters and more temperate times. Franky had just finished acclimating to the rhythm of the ship. He had taken on Usopp as a disciple of sorts, teaching him potential ways he could engineer better ammo and combat tricks. The two of them had even devised a separate workshop for the young man, so that they wouldn't have to cram into Franky's room every time they decided to draw blueprints. Everything seemed fine with all the other crew members too, but for some reason Robin kept making requests for him to fix things.

The first time it was the bookshelf in her room. He had merrily made his way up only to find the woman sitting on her bed, staring at a gigantic pile of books on the floor. The shelf had apparently cracked under the weight of all of them, which Franky only found odd because an entire corner of the shelf was crushed... clearly from the outside. When he bent over to precisely assess what materials he would need, he couldn't help feeling like the woman was getting a little bit too much excitement out of the situation. However, he had fixed it without complaint and advised her to keep her heavier reading material in the library.

The second time was only a day later. The pole in her closet had "mysteriously" cracked in half. On the floor of the closet, lingerie was laid out neatly in a row, as if waiting for someone to make a selection. The man could distinctly remember a particularly sexy bra and panty set that had made him quite uncomfortable, but he pushed through it in as professional a matter as he knew how and warned the woman to be more carefully where she left her clothes since she could have gotten splinters in them.

After that the work orders tumbled in like an avalanche in the form of little succinct notes: Nami needed a new desk; the oven was being temperamental; there might be a leak in the bath; the floor was creaking. All of them were submitted by Nico Robin. Half of the things weren't even broken, and every time Franky would show up he would always be greeted by Robin's mischievous grin.

Being a hotblooded guy, Franky couldn't lie, the attention was very tempting, especially when the woman was always wearing those dark skimpy outfits, but he had made the firm decision not to get involved romantically on the Sunny. He knew all too well what could go wrong, and he didn't want to end up like his parents. So, when it was clear that she wasn't going to stop breaking things, the cyborg did the only reasonable thing to do... he sent Usopp instead.

Now here he was staring at yet another short note in Nico Robin's handwriting demanding his presence. He placed it on the pile with all the others with another sigh and made his way to the main deck.

When he stepped into the sunlight he could see Robin lying in her favorite lawn chair with a jacket wrapped around her shoulders and a book in hand. Franky found the rest of her outfit to be less than weather appropriate, though he knew that he was not one to talk. He approached her with his arms crossed across his broad chest.

"Oi," he said.

The woman looked up from her book and smiled.

"Good morning, Franky" she replied. "We missed you at breakfast."

To anyone else in the crew this might have just been a normal conversation, but Franky knew the woman far too well to be fooled by her subtle tactics.

"You said you wanted to talk," he stated, making sure his voice was just quiet enough not to be heard by Zoro, who was asleep against the mast.

Robin picked up a small piece of ribbon and slipped it between the pages of the book before placing it on the ground underneath her chair. She then gracefully stood.

"Yes, I did," she said, coolly. She nodded towards the library, before looking deeply into the man's eyes. "Shall we go discuss this somewhere more private?"

As soon as they entered the library Franky was surprised at how quickly the woman's mood seemed to shift. Her smiled dropped to the hint of a scowl, and she crossed her arms. All the cyborg could do was wait for the confrontation to begin. The door clicked shut.

"Why have you been avoiding me?" Robin demanded.

Franky felt his heart begin to speed up. It was uncharacteristic of the woman to show so much emotion, and it took him off guard. He had prepared to calmly explain how he could not accept her advances due to personal reasons, but being hit with such forceful command pulled a much different reaction out of him.

"Why have you been breaking my stuff?" he said, with matched frustration.

There was silence. Tension hung in the air like a dense fog, and there was no light house in sight, which meant he was just going to have to fight his way through.

"This isn't your play thing to just mess around with whenever you want to look at my butt," the man yelled, gesturing to the shelves of book. "This is Sunny. Su-nny! And I don't like you breaking her!"

"Is that why you've been avoiding me?" She asked.

"No," Franky said. "I've been avoiding you because ever since I got on this ship you've been walking around with those damn sexy legs of yours exposed, and if you keep hitting on me, I don't know if I can control myself."

Another moment of silence passed as Franky let the realization of what he had just said sink in. He inwardly groaned. How could he have let her make him look so stupid. Robin made a small nod and smiled, avoiding his gaze.

"Very well," she whispered, turning towards the door. "Thank you for explaining."

Something about how cool her reaction was, even to hearing him confess that he liked her, made the cyborg's blood boil. In many ways he was convinced that Robin was the most infuriating woman he had ever met. He knew that she had some scars from her difficult past, but even then he couldn't fully understand her.

"How can you sit there and not care?" He snapped. "Am I just a toy like Sunny? Why ask me to come here at all?"

His body was beginning to shake. He was resisting every urge he had to walk over there and pin her against the wall. She was a devilfruit user, but he was made of steel, it would not be too difficult to overpower her until she gave him a response. However, that would be even worse for the crew than the situation that he had been initially avoiding, and so he just stood, clenching his hands with all his might.

"I do care," he heard her say.

That's when he noticed her body was trembling too. Her hand was on the door knob, but she couldn't seem to bring herself to turn it. Instead she turned herself around to face him.

Her eyes were red and glimmering with tears, which made Franky feel suddenly weak.

"I do care," she repeated, giving him a forced smile. "I'm just bad at this. I'm sorry, I'll leave you alone."

The man was stunned. It was the first time that he had heard her sincerely apologize for anything. He thought back on all the things that had just come to pass between them and realized his error.

"Robin," he breathed. "I don't want you to leave; I like you. I just don't think us getting involved is a good idea... And you've just been so damn persistent. I can't work well if you keep clogging up my time with your bookshelves, and your lingerie, and constant-"

A thump cut off his rambling. He looked up to see Robin slumped on the floor laughing, cheeks streaked with tears. She wiped her eyes.

"Have I really been that awful," she gasped between wipes.

"Oi, oi, It's not funny," the cyborg whined, sitting down. "You've been a real pain in the butt the past two weeks."

"I'm sorry," the woman admitted with a sigh. "I just was not sure how else to get you alone, and when you kept ignoring my advances, I guess I got caught up in the chase too much."

Her eyes were suddenly back to their usual devious sparkle. "I've never had a man who I was interested in resist me like you."

He grimaced. He had just yelled at her about not wanting to get involved, and here she was trying to seduce him again. It was touching though, to see her so fragile for the short moment it lasted. To see her be fully open, the same way she had been at Enies Lobby.

"Yeah, well you've never met someone as SUPER as I am," he retorted.

She laughed. "That is true."

She looked up at him with an expression of joy that he had never seen from her before. Whatever it was, it made her face seem to glow. He leaned closer, to better inspect this new mystery that she had presented. The corners of her lips were upturned. Her cheeks and lips were flushed. Her eyelashes seemed to flutter just a little bit more when she blinked. It couldn't be...

He lifted his hand to brush away stray tear from her face which obstructed his view, causing the woman's smile to fade and her eyes to grow wide.

Franky was startled. He was shocked. He was so blown away that he could feel his heart begin to race and hear his blood roar in his ears. A toothy grin of delight and amusement spread across his lips.

"I seduced you," he realized. The joy bubbling out of him was that of a young schoolboy. "I seduced you and I wasn't even trying."

Robin scowled at him, pressing one hand to her forehead.

"Please stop making that face," she whispered.

Franky just grinned even bigger. He could tell she was turning red.

"What? This one?" He said pointing.

"Yes!" She answered, still blushing despite the look of clear irritation she gave him.

Franky crept closer, suddenly filled with the desire of sweet revenge for all the hell she had put him through of the last two weeks.

"How can I not smile knowing I've won such a woman's pure heart," he taunted. His face was now inches from hers. "So what got you? Was it my personality? Or do you just think I'm SUPER sexy-?"

The light touch of a hand on his crotch made him stop. He looked down. A disembodied hand had itself clasped around the sweet spot of his speedo. He looked back up the woman's face which had grown eerily dark. Another hand seized the collar of his shirt, and he could feel himself starting to sweat.

"Oi... hehe... Robin," Franky stuttered, trying to gently back away. The hands around his sensitive parts only gripped tighter.

"You got too close," the woman chided.

Franky gulped. She was pulling him in towards her lips. They were going to make contact in three... two... one...

A loud clack came from the door. Robin released him with barely enough time for him to compose himself before Nami came through the door.

The young woman looked down at them in surprise. Robin was now feeling along the ground with one hand, while clutching her ear in the other. Franky followed her lead.

"What are you doing?" The red-head asked in tone that could only be described as disturbed.

"Ah. I found it!" Robin exclaimed, futzing with her covered ear as she stood. "Thank you, Franky."

Nami, blinked at them. Franky just put on his best grin and stood up.

"Franky, was just helping me find my earring," Robin explained so smoothly that Franky almost believed her.

Nami smiled.

"Oh. Good," she said. "I was just going to the bath."

"That sounds nice," Robin replied. "Would you like Franky to take the helm while you are up there?"

"That would be wonderful!" Nami exclaimed taking Robin's hand. She then glared over at Franky. "You heard her. Get to the helm, pervert."

Franky let out a boisterous laugh.

"You compliment me too much," he said, as he pushed past her and left.

A few minutes later Robin rejoined him on the helm. The sea was calm and the rest of the crew seemed busy either with chores or playing on the lawn of the deck. The woman leaned on the railing nearby.

"Didn't get enough me earlier?" the man asked, with a sly grin.

The woman smiled and looked towards the sea.

"Perhaps," she mused. "After all, it is you've said; I've been seduced."

Franky chuckled, gripping the wheel tightly in both hands.

"If you want to see me come down to my workshop," he said, grinning. "Break any more of my stuff and I'll make your life hell."

"Oh, I didn't break your stuff," the woman replied with a surprising amount of sincerity.

"What do you mean?" The man said, trying to keep his mouth from dropping open. "Then what happened?"

"The captain and Nami keep fighting in our room," she said, frowning slightly. "In surprised you haven't heard them. Everybody else seems to have."

"What's Luffy been doing in your room?"

Franky could feel a small twinge of jealously but also, more importantly, concern for his ship.

"Someone told him about an island that had plants which grew meat, and he's been trying to convince Nami to let us go," the woman stated.

"That person wouldn't happen to be you would it?" He chuckled.

Robin's usual mischievous smile returned.

"Perhaps."

The man let a hardy laugh.

"What a wicked woman…" he muttered.

She smiled at him. He smiled at her.

Perhaps being stuck with her wasn't the worst thing in the world.


	3. The Question

**A/N: Man have I entered the Frobin hive. I've had a day off to write and I probably should have been doing something else. I just love them so much. As always, please enjoy!**

 **The Question**

Franky stared at the door of the women's quarters, rubbing his chin.

To knock or not to knock...

This was the ritual he had practiced over the past few nights. A question had been burning in the back of his mind ever since they left Thriller Bark. Honestly, a lot of thoughts had been plaguing him since their night of terror on the massive ship, particularly regarding the fact that they had nearly lost half of their crew, including Nico Robin.

The idea of the woman disappearing bothered the man more than he would admit to others. Even as he stood at her door, the thought that their time together could be limited made his chest ache. Although she was sneaky and a pain at time, Franky had become fond of the afternoons they had spent chatting and teasing each other. She had, in her own dark way, just as cheesy a sense of humor as he did. She made him laugh in ways that the kids on the ship couldn't, and, even greater than that, she made him think.

Furthermore, on Thriller Bark when she sprouted those wings of hands she had been radiant. To others it might have seemed like a horror show, but, in his eyes, she looked like an angel, even if she did slam him into a wall immediately after that.

Franky shook his head and wrapped his hand around his skull as he sank into a crouch. He looked up at the door which shone in the moonlight. His blood roared in his ears making it impossible for even his good hearing to tell if they were already asleep in the cabin.

He stood up. He couldn't do it.

The cyborg had never felt as helpless as he did whenever he thought about Robin; without her subduing him, he might not have even had the strength to join on this adventure. That was the most frustrating part. He was supposed to be strong. He had built himself to be strong.

As he turned to leave, he noticed a lone figure on Sunny's helm. He squinted and saw the silhouette of straight hair blowing in the wind against the moon's watery reflection. Cloth whipped in the wind about a long pair of slender legs. The figure turned towards him, and his suspicions were confirmed. It was Nico Robin.

He walked down the stairs to the main deck, where she met him. Her face was so beautiful in the moonlight. His heart throbbed in his chest as her chocolatey eyes stared into his. She was breathing heavily and letting distress show on her face.

Franky distinctly remembered the last time she had let her emotions be so apparent. His face was beginning to heat up. If he was going to ask her, this was the best chance, and clearly had something to say too.

"Listen-," they both started to say.

They froze. The woman's eyes were large, and her mouth agape. Franky's expression was the same.

"Why don't you go first," the woman said, averting her eyes.

Franky gulped and took a deep breath.

"Robin," he murmured. "Ummm... " His cheeks were burning. "Do you still..."

"Think about you?" the woman interjected. Her expression was intense, almost childlike. "Yes, Why?"

Franky groaned, rubbing the back of his neck. Why couldn't he channel the same confidence he had back on Thriller Bark or Water 7? He threw his hand down to his side. He knew what he had to do; he had put it off for long enough. She was looking at him with the expectant, brown eyes. His nostrils flared. His eyebrows tied themselves in unruly knots. He grimaced.

"Robin," he declared, forcing himself to make full eye contact. "I need you by my side!"

The woman raised a hand to her ever reddening face and took a step back. Franky was panting from the surge of adrenaline he suddenly felt. He collapsed to his knees, reaching out his hand for hers.

"When I think about how you almost disappeared last week, I can't breathe," He gasped. "I might be scared to be with you, but I'm more scared of losing you. You're just too SUPER!"

A wet droplet hit Franky's face, and he looked up to see Robin clutching her mouth while tears streaked her cheeks. The moon created a halo around her black tresses. The man was unsure of what to do. He wasn't sure there was anything to do. Were they tears of joy or of frustration.

The woman then laughed, making Franky feel suddenly breathless. She wiped her eyes and looked down at him.

"Sorry," she said, giving her face another few wipes. "I'm not really sure how I feel anymore, honestly."

The cyborg's heart suddenly sank.

"You were right," she continued, pulling her hand from his. "If we became romantic it could cause trouble for the rest of the crew. I know I would hate it if you tried to save me before the captain or any of the others."

Franky placed both his hands on the ground. It was all he could do to fight the overwhelming wave of regret which washed over him in that instant. He felt her hand on his shoulder, but couldn't bring himself to look up at her.

"I am very happy to hear you feel that way though," she said, leaning in close enough for the tips of her hair to brush his shoulder. There was an uncanny quiver to her voice, that sounded familiar. He wracked his brain trying to figure out when. "You were right. It's for the best."

Then he remembered. He was amazed he hadn't picked up on it sooner; it was Robin's one tell. She was lying to herself. Everything in his gut told him that she was forcing herself just the same way he had been. He laughed to himself, as tears began to threaten his eyes. They were being so stupid.

As the woman began to stand back up. He reached a large hand to catch her cheek, and stood up to his full height, placing his other hand on her shoulder. Robin didn't try to move. She seemed to be just as mesmerized by him as he was by her. He stroked her cheek lightly, and his eyes wandered down to her mouth. She was biting her bottom lip, still holding onto her secrets. He placed his forehead to hers, taking in her sweet floral scent. Her hands clasped his forearm.

"Couldn't we just try?" he whispered. He could feel tears of his palm, but he wasn't sure if they were Robin's or his own. "I swear, if one of us ever puts the other above the rest of the group we can end it. Just please-"

Her lips were suddenly on his. They were just as warm as he had always imagined they would be. Her arms warpped around his waist, and Franky clutched her back and hair. Something ravenous deep inside of him began to stir as their embrace became more feverish.

In a blur of hands, lips, and the scent of roses, Franky moved her against the mast, out of eyeline of the cabin's, where he began to kiss her neck. Robin's arms clutched his cheeks, and pressed him away. Her looked up at her. She was smiling, but there was still weariness in her eyes.

"You promise? Nobody finds out," she said, studying him seriously. It wasn't a question.

Franky pointed a thumb at himself and gave her a wink. "Who do you think you're talking to?"

She let out a quick huff of amusement and slowly stroked his hair.

"Then, Franky, I will let you see me."

He smiled and brushed a strand of her hair behind one ear.

"And I'll let you see me," he said.

Nico Robin's eyebrows shot up. "Oh?"

"Oi, don't get too cocky," the man snapped back, bringing his face in close to hers. "Remember who was chasing who first."

The woman grinned, she was back to her usual mischievous self, clearly. She seized the collar of his shirt and pressed her forehead against his.

"I believe it was you at Enies Lobby," she replied.

"Oi, woman, I was rescuing you."

"Fufufu... and I greatly appreciate it."

"'FuFu'... Come here," he growled.

The two spent the rest of the night under the stars, with only Sunny as their witness. When morning came they went their separate ways, her to the library and him to his workshop, and no one was ever the wiser.


	4. Rendezvous

Franky slipped a small piece of paper into the woman's hand.

He carefully studied her face as she snuck a peek at it. Her eyebrows rose, and she glanced at him with a smile before folding her hands in her lap and turning her attention to the rest of the crew who was bouncing around at the prospect at the thought of splitting up.

Luffy wanted to go to the amusement park. Zoro more than likely just wanted to go drink or something. Nami was excited to go shopping again. Franky and Robin however now had plans of their own.

"Rendezvous?" The paper read.

He could just picture all the fun they were going to have without having to worry about the others.

He could picture her languid grin amongst the crumpled bed sheets, the ecstasy on her face as he kissed her stomach, and the feeling of her many hands playfully clawing his back.

But it had dissolved. In mere minutes of chaos, that picturesque weekend they had promised each other went up in smoke. It had all been ended by that man. That man and his palm.

The ringing of an alarm woke Franky suddenly. He looked around him and shivered. The fireplace in the corner of the lab which was now his residence was dark. He groaned, and slowly rose to his feet. Gears screamed as they pressed each other forward. The cyborg had yet to finish the new additions to his legs; the cold could potentially destroy all his work.

Once he got the fire lit, the man settled down in a large padded chair that he had specially designed to fit his ever growing frame. Designs for arm upgrades lay strewn about the desk next to him along with a pair of newspapers. One featured an article on the execution of Portgas D. Ace. The other featured a picture of his captain with a tattoo on his arm: 3D2Y.

Franky let out a sigh. He was 3 months into their separation, and it was metaphorically killing him. Sure two years was going to be great for learning all of Vegapunk's secrets, but in just a few days he would be separated from the crew for longer than he had been a part of it, longer than he had been a part of Robin.

A woman of such beauty was not the kind one was able to hold onto for long he supposed. He had known that the fantasy that was being with the dark woman would come to a close eventually; he just hadn't anticipated it ending so soon.

It was on quiet nights like this that Franky especially miss the warmth of her lying next to him in his cramped workshop cot. He craved the sound of her bleak musings in the middle of the night and relaxed laugh that usually followed.

"Where was she sent?" He wondered. "Has she found someone else more… human?"

As morning light tinted the skylight purple, there came a heavy rap on the large metal door. Franky oiled up his knees and stood.

One knock. Four knocks. Then two knocks.

That meant it was the old man.

Franky opened the door and looked down upon him.

The squat man stood on the doorstep holding a parcel.

"Weekly delivery," he said, cheerfully brushing past the cyborg.

"Where's the boy and Taroimo?" Franky asked closing the door behind him.

"Bringing the rest," the man replied, placing the parcel on Franky's desk. Then he dug in the lining of his coat, withdrawing from it a envelope labeled "cyborg-san" in cursive writing. "I thought you might be excited to learn you received a letter."

Franky's eyes grew wide. His mouth felt dry. His heart beat rapidly. It took all his strength not to charge the man and rip the letter from his hands. He recognized that handwriting.

As soon as the old man and boy had finished their delivery and headed home, the cyborg sat in his chair once more. With slow precision he attempted to open the envelope as delicately as possible. Then he eased out the paper that was encased within.

"Dear Franky,

I apologize for the amount of time it took for me to get ahold of you. It took a while for rumors of the cyborg and Karakuri's sacred burning beast to reach us at our undisclosed location. I am just grateful for the access to intelligence that my current compatriots posses. Don't worry though; they could never replace you or the rest of the crew. I will be coming back to you…"

Franky could feel precipitation stream down his cheeks as relief flooded over him.

"…provided you do not succumb to hypothermia or explosion before the time of separation is up."

Franky chuckled, but quickly fell silent upon reading the next line.

"I would also like to apologize for not being able to make our Rendezvous. Even now I can imagine how lovely it would have been to lounge with you in the shade of the mangroves. This might seem silly, but there are still nights where I think I'm waking to the sound of your snoring, only to realize that I am alone. I only can hope you are not experiencing these same stirrings.

That is all I can disclose for now for fear that it is not you who has received this. However, if it is you, please spell my true name by the Eastern Coast, and a carrier will be sent to you.

Sincerely yours,

Robin"

"SUPER!"

Franky felt a fire in his belly, and immediately set to work on his response.

"Dear Robin,

Sending the letter to the old man was the right idea. He is very trustworthy and seemed quite excited to pass it along," Franky wrote.

"I must apologize to you as well. These past three months I tried to convince myself that you had found someone new... "

Franky quickly oiled and sheathed his legs and threw on his coat.

"I see that I was a fool to think that a super stubborn woman like you would ever be so fickle…"

The cyborg tossed some spare pipes and planks of lumber into a bag, before he headed off into the deep snow. The early morning precipitation stung his ears, but he didn't mind.

"I can say I have not been stirred awake thinking that it's you, but that's only because it's hard to sleep without your morbid pillow talk…"

The man stared out over the ice filled ocean before him, into the rising sun. He dropped his bag and began to arrange the scrap.

"I don't care how long it might take for us to see each other again, because, if you are willing to wait for me, I'm willing to wait a lifetime to hold you in my arms again."

The man wiped his brow and stood back to admire his work. Carved in intricate swirls and crisp lines was the name he often jokingly called his lover:

 **ANGEL**

"I'm also working on some super upgrades that will blow your mind. I love you.

Forever your sexy man,

Franky."

Robin chuckled as she lifted the mug of warm coffee to her lips. That man really was something. Not only had he sent her a letter, but he had sent her a small present as well.

"For when you need to feel Super," was the note he had attached to the white and orange sunglasses said.

She lightly traced the frames with her fingers, before placing them on her nose and whipping around. The young woman who was standing behind her gave her a confused look.

"Robin-San," the girl said. "What are you doing?"

Robin raised her new specs and smiled. "Sorry. I was just trying something out."

The young woman nodded slowly, before continuing about with her work.

Robin sighed; she would also need to start working again. She pulled out her notebook and pen and smiled. But first she had a letter to write.


End file.
